David Hogg’s Assault on Publix Not Exactly the Victory He Expected

The local media have been in a delirious cycle of reporting regarding the teenage Parkland activist, David Hogg, and his latest target of activism -- Publix Supermarkets. Hogg’s overblown outrage at the Lakeland-based company was due to a very weak connection to his gun activism -- the company made donations to Republican gubernatorial candidate Adam Putnam, an avowed supporter of the Second Amendment and the NRA -- and Hogg went into full-throated outrage anyway.

Encouraged by a story from the Tampa Bay Times, inside a week Hogg went from personal protest to public boycott. Still not a big enough reaction for this attention-loving young man.

So, on Friday, he went for the home run, trying to extort $1 million from the state's largest employer, for the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Victims Fund. Publix was told to comply, or he would orchestrate die-in protests at the company's stores. Well, to its credit, the supermarket never capitulated.

Hogg kept his promise, went out to the store location nearest the school, where he and other students laid down in the parking lot so they could draw outlines of their bodies.

This action was completed with the aid of a public artist, because frankly when it comes to stringing up police tape and drawing stick figures on the asphalt, it requires the skills of a professional artist. The 17 figures in front of the store, one for each victim of the Feb 14 school shooting, were created with the intention of making a connection to the store that has never made a donation to the NRA or to the Parkland tragedy.

Not being an activist myself, I will leave it to others to measure the success of messaging in drawing chalk outlines during tropical depression, 100-percent-rain conditions. But tellingly, there were copious media on site to cover what was described as a very dramatic “art installation.”

That afternoon Hogg and fellow students and supporters occupied the store. They sprawled out on the floor, and it led to gripping imagery -- dozens of kids on their backs, as David intoned messaging via bullhorn, while numerous shoppers stepped over the “corpses” as they went about their task of selecting items from shelves, ignoring their drama. That visual apathy, however, was not enough, and the company buckled to Hogg’s demands -- in a sneaky, not-really sort of way.

On Friday the company issued another statement, this time addressing its position regarding donations in general. “We regret our contributions have led to a divide in our community,” the store wrote.“We would never knowingly disappoint our customers or the communities we serve. As a result, we decided earlier this week to suspend corporate-funded political contributions as we re-evaluate our giving processes.”

A comical and hollow ending for Hogg. No money for the school's Victims Fund, the company has already donated to Putnam anyway, and the Hogg protest ended in a whimper.

Given that supermarket ownership is rethinking its “giving processes,” this means just as Hogg was demanding a donation, the response to his strong-arm tactics was the store curtailing donations. Putnam gets no more money, but neither will his cause. Maybe going forward, this will encourage the teen activist to rethink his aggressive strategy, and maybe work to convince others, not coerce them, to his cause.

Following the Publix announcement, Hogg tweeted out this message: “Together we can do anything. Together the young people will win by choosing love.” Apparently “love” entails threats, extortion, and trespassing in order to get your way. I wonder how much more of this affection the community is willing to tolerate.

Brad Slager, a Fort Lauderdale freelance writer, wrote this piece exclusively for Sunshine State News. Slager writes on politics and the entertainment industry and his stories appear in such publications as RedState and The Federalist.

On 2/14 students were dismissed at 1 pm Very few students were there when the event occurred. Where is the proof? Now a commission has been set up to cover up!!!!! Can you imagine having 3 of the parents on this commission? If DWS was involved trust but verify!!!!!

Hogg is clearly seeking whatever financial gains he can can get from this horrible, horrible situation that occurred in South Florida. Many of us live close by and have connections to these families. We grieve and support in honest ways with all of our neighbors. We do not condone the actions of someone who seems to be intent on FAME at the expense of loving, innocent and precious souls. Light his parents up. They are the glorymongers. LOSERS.

Why is it so hard for most of you to understand how these young people feel after an assault and mass murder at their high school? How bout a shot of empathy for all member of the Republican party. You shouldn't have to wait until it happens to you before you can sympathize, but that seems to be the GOP way. Rewarding those who pander to the NRA has a cost.

If I contacted a major corporation and told them to donate a million bucks to my charity or I would stage an event to disrupt their business, how long do you think I'd have before Pam Bondi swooped down with an indictment for extortion? My guess is it would happen as soon as possible. But if I tied it to a tragedy I can do as I please. Something is very wrong with that

Let’s be real: Your compassion for people only goes as far as you can use them to attack your political opponents and push through the agenda your party tells you to support.
If there has been a shooting by Isis or a bombing by the Taliban, your urge to hear victim-activists would be nowhere to be found. You and your ilk would be yelling over top of them to stress that it has nothing to do with politics or religion or ideology. All while you unironically call the NRA and it’s members terrorists.
Your game is always the same, and no one is buying it anymore.

Why is it so hard for you people that support this bully that there is proper ways to be heard? Why do think this is okay to inconvenience other innocent shoppers, many elderly that have disabilities already and trying to walk where bodies are all over the Aisle? What they did was in violation of the Disabilities Act and also against rules of the Fire Dept which states no aisles are to be blocked in case of fire. This is bullying publix and the Shoppers. This will only alienate people that would normally be for them Little boy David and his gang of bullies will not get what they want this way.

...and David used to be such a nice boy... until he learned that the LEFT would do all it could to give him everything for FREE. Enjoy the "Public Trough" as much as you can. I understand it is used as a restroom to the fully committed Communist countries = just ask George Soros.

Well of course she has to get a selfie! The only point of doing such things is so you can signal to your peers how “woke” and “virtuous” you are, which is good, because that is just about all it accomplishes.

Just a rumor, but I heard that David will release a web site where people can get his "ok" on which stores to shop at, which politicians they can contribute to, tv shows they can watch or sponsor, which companies banks can invest in, etc, etc. This will save him time protesting and he can devote the time elsewhere.

Wish I could find some protesters laying around my neighborhood store. I would have stomped on as many fingers I needed to buy what I wanted.
Publix, kids don't shop in your store, parents do. I for one will never shop publix again for caving in to this douchebag

Three cheers for Hogg! And ... boycotting in this one-party-rule state is the ONLY way Democrats and Democrat-leaning Independents are EVER going to get their voices heard politically. Hopefully, Hogg's generation can get it done!

I can’t believe another business actually puts up with this total Nonsense !!! This kid thinks he can tell anyone what they can and can not do! Then, if he doesn’t get his way, he bulldozes his way onto their property and disrupts their business Talk about bullying total liberal tactics! Just ask Laura Ingrahm about that!

Communist activist punk? I don't think so. This is still America. Not everyone is a fascist Republican, and not everyone is a rabid NRA gun owner. I do think Hogg's approach was misinformed and disruptive. Protests should always be peaceful and planned to avoid confrontation. You better get used to Hogg's generation as they become more and more politically active. Compromise is always the answer, when dealing with differing viewpoints. If you can't compromise, then you are the problem. Publix is an employee owned company. How many employees are in favor of their political affiliation with Adam Putnam. That has to be taken into consideration.

Amen, Bob! You're right on the mark!
Publix can do what it wants ... and the rest of us can vote with our dollars! Simple boycotting ... hurting fascist Republicans in their precious pocketbooks ... is the best way to get the rest of us heard!